Mike Glasscott

Playing the Tips

Our Picks: Valero Texas Open

Each week this will be the one-stop resource to soak in all the picks from our group of fantasy staffers from Rotoworld.com. We’ll have all of our selections from the GolfChannel.com, Yahoo! Fantasy Golf plus my new expanded feature on my weekly selection for One-and-Done players.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Matt Every kept his nerve and put his name on the trophy for the first time in 93 TOUR events and I reaped the benefits as he was my Group 3 selection. Sadly, Seung-Yul Noh and Gary Woodland couldn’t forage into the top 10, but anytime a winner is on board is a great week. Rob Bolton was the big winner of the week as he had Every PLUS Keegan Bradley for the very rare first/second exact and will move up considerably in this game. O also went with Every in Group 3 and rolled the dice with Kevin Na in group two who posted a very solid T14. Super Ned Brown rode George McNeill in group three to a T14 finish but his lead is big enough to have a minor hiccup like this. All of our Group 1 players either MC (Rose) or went home sick (Watson).

ANALYSIS: Trailing Ned by a TON, I’m going a bit outside of the box in Group 1 with Spieth but he’s my No. 1 ranked player on the week so I’m putting my money where my mouth is. Or something like that. Group 2 is just brutal with a ton of guys to choose from but I went with the big hitter from Texas who is coming off P2 in his last start. Group 3 is a bit thin so I’m loading a horse-for-course and Holmes in Group 4 is coming off his best start in two years. There is definitely a difference in this game, or Yahoo!, in how I will pick while trailing or leading.

ANALYSIS: Last week, Rob and I matched the bottom two and you know how that worked out. This week, we match Group 1 and 4. With first AND second last week, Rob moved up a ton, obviously, in the standings.

ANALYSIS: Well, we’ve all had a go with J.B. Holmes in Group 4. That never turns out well, but we still have hope! Ned is looking to stick it to us again by being the only one on Mickelson. #gulp

Welcome to Playing the Tips!

Each week this will be the one-stop resource to soak in all the picks from our group of fantasy staffers from Rotoworld.com. We’ll have all of our selections from the GolfChannel.com, Yahoo! Fantasy Golf plus my new expanded feature on my weekly selection for One-and-Done players.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Matt Every kept his nerve and put his name on the trophy for the first time in 93 TOUR events and I reaped the benefits as he was my Group 3 selection. Sadly, Seung-Yul Noh and Gary Woodland couldn’t forage into the top 10, but anytime a winner is on board is a great week. Rob Bolton was the big winner of the week as he had Every PLUS Keegan Bradley for the very rare first/second exact and will move up considerably in this game. O also went with Every in Group 3 and rolled the dice with Kevin Na in group two who posted a very solid T14. Super Ned Brown rode George McNeill in group three to a T14 finish but his lead is big enough to have a minor hiccup like this. All of our Group 1 players either MC (Rose) or went home sick (Watson).

ANALYSIS: Trailing Ned by a TON, I’m going a bit outside of the box in Group 1 with Spieth but he’s my No. 1 ranked player on the week so I’m putting my money where my mouth is. Or something like that. Group 2 is just brutal with a ton of guys to choose from but I went with the big hitter from Texas who is coming off P2 in his last start. Group 3 is a bit thin so I’m loading a horse-for-course and Holmes in Group 4 is coming off his best start in two years. There is definitely a difference in this game, or Yahoo!, in how I will pick while trailing or leading.

ANALYSIS: Last week, Rob and I matched the bottom two and you know how that worked out. This week, we match Group 1 and 4. With first AND second last week, Rob moved up a ton, obviously, in the standings.

ANALYSIS: Well, we’ve all had a go with J.B. Holmes in Group 4. That never turns out well, but we still have hope! Ned is looking to stick it to us again by being the only one on Mickelson. #gulp

Yahoo! Fantasy Golf

Ned Brown is a long-time contributor for Rotoworld Golf. He’s had documented success in Yahoo!’s game for years. Even if you’re confident in your selections for that game, give his insight a read. He’ll lead us off each week in the Yahoo! game.

“Pure Spin”

API Points: 118

Winter Segment Points: 1,780

Ranking: 6,217

Group A

Matt Kuchar: He has cooled off a bit from his hot play starting last fall, but he stands out in this this thin field. He has made the cut in both of his recent starts here with his best finish being a T13 in '12.

Phil Mickelson: This is a new tournament for Mickelson, who felt he needed some extra work before the Masters. He looked good coming off of a back injury at Doral where he was T16.

Jim Furyk: He looked great at the WGC-Accenture Match Play and he was steady at the Valspar Championship where he was T20. Furyk played in his first Valero Texas Open last season and eagled the 72nd hole to finish T3.

Jordan Spieth: He has played quite a bit in 2014 and has been pretty consistent with six top 20s in eight starts. Spieth hasn't done much in two previous starts here, so he is more about playing the current form.

Jason Kokrak: He has been on fire the last couple of weeks on the TOUR with a T14 at the Valspar and a solo fourth place last week at the API. He missed the cut in his first start at the TVO in '12, but he rebounded last year with a tie for 15th place.

Zach Johnson: He slowed down from his torrid start to the year and I've used up half my starts with him. However, he is a two-time winner of this event and should do well this week in this field.

Jimmy Walker: He has won three events already in the wrap-around season and would love to win his hometown event. His best finish here is a third place in '10, but he is playing at a higher level this year than any time before in his career.

Charley Hoffman: Group C is absolutely loaded this week and you could pick among a dozen players and make a real good argument they will win this week. Hoffman stood out to me because of his record at Oak Course at TPC San Antonio of two T13s ('10, '12) plus a T2 in '11 and a T3 last year.

Matt Kuchar – With a thin Group A, there is no reason NOT to play the chalk this week.

Phil Mickelson – As I mentioned in my preview, he’s not coming here to waste his time.

Group B

Jordan Spieth: No. 1 in the preview, first name on the team sheet in group B. #SpiethBoner

Jim Furyk: Adding him this week gives me the confidence to stretch on picks three and four because Furyk is so solid on tough courses.

Jason Kokrak: I’ll gladly ride a guy who has been on fire for two weeks! He played his final three rounds here last year at par or better.

Billy Horschel: The Man with His Own Column will be given another chance this week. I like this spot because of the three players in front of him so if he struggles, I’m covered.

Group C

Ryan Palmer: The Texan is coming off his second T2 finish in four events. #heatcheck

Charley Hoffman: I could argue for about 10 guys in this place but I liked how Hoffman knocked the rust off at Valspar. His track record here is first class as well.

One-and-Done

Frys.com:Gary Woodland, MC. Well, at least I don’t have to worry about when I’m using GARY WOODLAND again!

SHFC Open:Hideki Matsuyama. Time to break through, son. Matsuyama WD with injury so he was replaced with Nick Watney. He finished T48 for $15,264

CIMB Classic: Let’s try this again: Hideki Matsuyama. There’s no cut. This pleases me. His T25 after 74 on Sunday does not please me. Oh well. Here’s $53,433 into the piggy bank.

WGC-HSBC:Martin Kaymer. There’s no other place I would consider using him and he’s the defending champ on this track. #hangsonfordearlife. Kaymer’s third round 62 dared me to dream but his T8 and $161,667 is a nice deposit.

The McGladrey Classic:David Toms. He’s finished T3 in 2010 and second last year. His recent form suggests he’s playing well and I don’t see another chance to burn him down the road. It was him or CH III. Well, BOTH of my selections finished T27. I should have listened to O…T27 was good for $39,050.

OHL Mayakoba:Brian Gay. When form meets course history… Well, that was a nice theory but it resulted in T45 and $18,060. I’m glad 2013 is now over.

HTOC: Martin Laird. Since I’m off to a woeful start I see no reason to burn a premium player. Chris Kirk was my second choice but nobody wins in back-to-back starts plus he’s just had another child. Laird is the horse-for-course. The Scot finished T20 in a 30-man field for $87,000.

Sony: Charles Howell III. He plays great in the early part of the season and his record at Waialae has everything BUT a win. If you notice, I saved most of my heavy hitters for the latter part of 2013 last year and that strategy worked out. Hey, a top 10 and $119,000! Feels like a winner!

Humana: Webb Simpson has been on fire to get 2013-14 started and going low has never been a problem. It’s time to start firing at ‘em. Sigh. Another week brings another disappointing selection as I add a whopping $57,000 to my morbid total.

FIO: Same as last year, Rickie Fowler. He’s working with Butch Harmon to get to the next level and he’s played SoCal courses plenty in his young life. He finished up last week at Humana 67-66 and he’s finished T5, T20, T13 and T6 last year in four career starts. I’ll save Woods and Mickelson for down the road for bigger winner’s checks. Snedeker and Walker were also considered and are solid options for this week. Fowler was just as bad as the other four I had listed, save for Woods’ MDF cash. Tough week in OAD for most I’m guessing. MC $0.

WMPO: Ryan Palmer. He’s on fire, can really putt and was fifth here last year. His excellent 64 saw him make the cut but his 70-72 weekend resulted in T48 at $15,772. I finished strong last year because I had a stable full of studs from The Open Championship through the FedExCup Playoffs. I’m not panicking. Yet.

AT&T PEBBLE: Jimmy Walker is the pick this week. He’s a beast on the West Coast and he’s had time to recover from his illness after MC at Torrey Pines. BANG TRISCUITS. Winner, winner, chicken dinner and $1,188,000.

NTO: Dustin Johnson goes to bat this week for Team Glass. His form is excellent and the fact that he’s banged top 10s in half of his trips here doesn’t hurt either. Tacos for everyone! Johnson’s solo second adds $723,600 to the bank! #heatwave

WGC-Match Play:Ian Poulter will be my hedge this week. His recent starts hardly inspire but there’s no doubting his inner fortitude in Match Play. He is the 2010 champ and was fourth last year. I don’t see myself using him anywhere else this season. Hunter Mahan would be choice No. 2 but I don’t like his draw with the sizzling Zach Johnson. Don’t forget Mahan played in the last group in the U.S. Open and The Open in 2013. Ah, Poults…$48,000.

Honda Classic: Graeme McDowell is the choice this week. There has been no rust after his time off this winter and I’m encouraged after his result at Pebble and WGC-Match Play. I’m using Mickelson at Pinehurst so this is an easy play. He was three-under heading into the weekend. He was even when the weekend was over. Add $15,600 to the bank. That couldn’t cover Bolton’s Lear jet for the weekend…

WGC-CC: With a massive prize pool, I have no problem pulling the trigger on, as for reasons mentioned above, on an ultra-premium player. GO MCILROY GO! After making a birdie on No. 1 on Sunday, He was just four back. That was his last birdie of the day. Sigh. T25, $76,000.

Valspar: It was down to Furyk or Donald, but Donald had only ONE bad round last week! Go Luke Go! Donald finished T4, good for $235,600. Another nice cash and another top five works for me.

API: It came down to Bubba Watson and Kevin Na last week and T14 from Na never sounded so good! I added $102,300 to the kitty and another top 25 to the ledger.

VTO: My choices this week are a bit all over the board and will take some narrowing down.

First up is Jordan Spieth. The good news with Spieth is that he can win ANY week. He’s only played essentially one year on TOUR and he cranks out top fives for fun. He’s had wonderful success at HPBNC as an amateur as well so that comes into my thought process this week.

Jim Furyk, like Spieth, is a wonderful ace-in-the-hole for tight, tough courses and there will be a few of those coming up later this summer but it’s hard to ignore his T3 in his first trip last time.

Jason Kokrak is intriguing as his current form on tight, tough courses has been excellent the last two weeks.

The “horses-for-courses” this week that stand out are Charley Hoffman and Freddie Jacobson, both former winners on TOUR and they BOTH have ran roughshod over this Greg Norman design. I'm going out on a limb, again, this week with a horse for course and taking Hoffman as my OAD selection. Thanks to Adam Nappa for the edit this week!

Home Run: Jason Kokrak has found an excellent vein of form but he’s never had three top 25 finishes in a row, let alone three top 15s, in his young, blossoming career.

Bench: Premium players will be used in premium events such as majors, WGC and FedExCup Playoffs. They will also be used at courses they have dominated (see: Johnson, Zach at Colonial; Stricker, Steve at JDC). This strategy worked for me last year and I’m going with it again this season. Gamers, hit me up on Twitter or email if you have any questions or need any advice.

Thermometer: The streak of back-to-back top 10s was broken last week but T14 was MUCH better than WD! #whew

Coming Wednesday

And the analysis doesn't end here. Rotoworld's Rob Bolton and I will be co-hosting a one-hour live chat Wednesday at NOON p.m. ET. We will be breaking down the field at the VTO and answering your questions. Simply return to the golf home page to join in on the chatter.